Display-rack.



No. 817,216. PATBNTBD APR. 10, 1906. E. BOLLHOEFBR.

DISPLAY RACK.

, APPLIGATION FILED SBPT.1,1904.

Mifiwsses 3 I Ewen/fig? by Q/@% I irrrn er .1 1;;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 10, 1906.

Application filed September 1,1904. Serial No. 222,937.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDDIE BOLLHOEFER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Colfax, in the county of Jasper and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and use ful Display-Rack, of which the following is a specification.

The objects of my invention are to provide a display-rack to be suspended from an elevated support, which maybe readily, quickly, and easily raised or lowered and firmly supported in any position in which it may be placed.

My invention consists in certain details in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the device whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the complete display-rack attached to an elevated support. Fig. 2 shows an enlarged detail sectional view of the mechanism for supporting the rack. Fig. 3 shows a sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of the parts of the windingdrum detached from each other. Fig. 5 shows a sectional view similar to Fig. 3, showing a slightly-modified form; and Fig. 6 shows a top or plan view of the frame of the winding-drum.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the frame of the drum is formed complete of a single piece of sheet metal and comprises a top 10, having openings 11 therein to receive screws for fastening the frame to a ceiling or other elevated support. On the sides of the top 10 are the downward extensions 12, formed with openings to receive the journals of the drum. At one side of the top 10 is an. extension 13 to form a support for the pivoted pawl, hereinafter described. Secured to the under surface of the extension 13 are two angle-plates 14 and 15, spaced apart and having a pawl 16 pivoted between them. This pawl is provided with. a downward extension 17 at its free end.

The winding-drum is constructed to be formed principally of metal tubes and disks, that may be stamped out of sheet metal, and comprises, first, two disks 18 and 19, spaced apart and secured to a short journal 20. Between the disks 18 and 19 is a ratchet-wheel 21, also secured to the journal 20 and formed With eccentric surfaces 22 on its periphery,

with notches 23 between them. The ratchetwheel 22 and the disks 18 and 19 are so arranged with relation to the pawl 16 that the extension 17 of the pawl is always held between the disks 18 and 19, because the disks are of such size that the pawl 16 cannot move upwardly far enough to permit its lower end to pass out of the space between the said disks, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3. Hence the said pawl will always engage the periphery of the ratchet-wheel 22 except when thrown upwardly by a forcible rotation. of the ratchet-wheel 22 in a proper direction for accomplishing this result. The ratchet-wheel proper is of ordinary construction, and the pawl 16 is of ordinary construction, and they operate as follows: When the ratchet-wheel 21 is forcibly rotated in one direction, the pawl 16 is thrown upwardly out of engagement therewith. Then if the ratchet-wheel is rotated rapidly in the opposite direction the pawl will be moved upwardly by each of the cam-surfaces 22, so that it cannot drop by gravity into the notches 23. However, if the ratchet-wheel is moved slowly the pawl will drop by gravity and lock the ratchet-wheel.

The winding-drum comprises a tube 24, having one end secured to the disk 19 and its other end internally screw-threaded at 25. The tube is also provided with openings,

through which cords may be passed. It is d esirable to have a partition between the two end portions of the drum, and for this purpose I place a short sleeve 26 on the tube 24 with one end resting against the disk 19. Said sleeve is provided with an opening to receive a cord. Mounted upon the tube 24 is a disk 27 with a central opening 28, and said disk is placed against the adjacent end of the sleeve 26. On the other end. of the tube 24 is a sleeve 28, also formed with an opening to receive a cord, and one end of said sleeve engages the disk 27. Mounted on the end of the tube 24 is a disk 29, having a central opening 30, and said disk is placed in engagement with the end of the sleeve 28 These parts are all firmly held. together by means of a cap 31, formed with a screw-threaded extension 32, designed. to enter the screwthreaded end of the tube 24. It is also formed with a diskshaped portion 33 to overlap the end of the tube 24 and the central portion of the disk 29, and 011 its outer surface is a short journal 34 to enter an opening in one of the extensions 12 of the frame. In assembling this portion of the device the sleeves and disks are placed upon the tube 24, and before the cap 31 is inserted I pass one cord 35 through an opening in the tube 24 and through the opening in the tube 26 and form a knot 36 on the end of the cord within the tube 24. The cord proper is then wound upon the drum between the disks 27 and 19. I then pass a cord 37 through an opening in the tube 24 and through the open ing in the sleeve 28 and form a knot 38 on its inner end. The body portion of said cord is then wound upon the sleeve 28 between the disks 27 and 29 in a direction opposite from that in which the cord 35 is wound. The remaining ends of said cords are then permitted to hang downwardly from the drum, one cord serving as a means for operating the drum and the other as a means for supporting-a rack. I then insert the cap'31 in the tube 24 and screw it up until the sleeves 26 and 28 and the disks 27 and 29 are all firmly connected and held in place by the diskshaped portion 33. The drum may then be placed within the frame 12, where it is rotatably supported.

The rack proper comprises a number of metal rings 39, 40, and 41 of different sizes and connected with each other by chains 42 secured to each ring. The upper ends of said chains incline toward the center of the upper ring and are connected by a small ring 43, which is attached to one of the cords wound upon the drum. By thus providing a display-rack made of a number of rings of different sizes flexibly connected with each other it will be seen that the rack may be easily folded to occupy a minimum of space, and, further, by having the rings of different sizes articles to be displayed may be placed upon each ring to hang straight dorwnwardly therefrom and the articles upon one ring will not touch upon those of the ring below, so that a more effective display of articles may be made upon a rack of this kind than if the rings were all of one size.

In practical use and assuming that the parts are assembled as shown in Fig. 1, it is obvious, first, that the parts of the drum are all firmly united with each other by the screw-cap 31. Furthermore, the cords 35 and 3-7 by passing through the tube 24 and the sleeves 26 and 28 provide means whereby the sleeves are prevented from rotation upon the tube 24. The weight of the rack proper is such that it will normally rotate the drum unless the drum is held against rotation by the pawl 16. If it is desired to elevate the rack proper, the operator pulls downwardly upon the operating-cord, which has the efiect of first throwing the pawl upwardly and then rotating the drum in the direction required for unwinding the operatingcord and winding upthe cord that supports the rack. If the rack is in an elevated position and it is desired to lower it, the operator then pulls downwardly upon the operatingcord sufficiently to elevate the pawl 16, after which he releases the operating-cord, and the weight of the rack is sufficient to rotate the drum rapidly in the direction required for unwinding the cord which supports the rack. When it is desired to stop the rack, the operator holds the operating-cord, thus permitting the pawl to drop into one of the notches 23, and thereby lock the ratchet-wheel in position.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5 I have shown a ratchet-wheel 21, the periphery of which is concentric and provided with a number of notches 45, and on one side of each notch is an outwardly-proj ecting rounded extension 46, arranged to be engaged by the pawl and to have the effect of throwing the pawl outwardly away from ratchet-wheel when the ratchet-wheel is rapidly rotated. The operation of this device is substantially the same as that before described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat ent of the United States therefor, is

In a device of the class described, the combination of a frame to be secured to an elevated support, a pawl pivotally supported by the frame, a drum comprising a short shaft, two disks spaced apart and fixed to the short shaft, a disk-shaped ratchet-wheel between them to be engaged by the said pawl, said disks serving as guides for the pawl, a tube connected with one of said disks and formed with openings, a sleeve formed with an opening and mounted upon said tube, a cord passed through one of said openings in the tube and through the opening in the sleeve and wound upon the sleeve, a disk mounted upon the tube and in engagement with the end of said sleeve, a second sleeve formed with an opening mounted upon said tube with one end in engagement with the said disk, a cord passed through an opening in the tube and through the opening in the second sleeve and wound upon the second sleeve in a direction opposite from the first cord, a disk mounted upon the tube in engagement with the latter sleeve, a cap formed with a diskshaped extension and a short shaft connected with the said tube and having its disk-shaped extension engaging the latter disk, the said short shaft supported in the said frame and a display-rack fixed to one of said cords.

EDDIE BOLLHOEFER.

Witnesses:

J. RALPH ORWIG, J. B. SMUTNEY. 

